


I Love the Smell of Apple Breath in the Morning

by merlins_sister



Category: Castle, Fringe
Genre: Crossover, Gen, Humor, Unicorn!fic, crack!fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-31
Updated: 2011-12-31
Packaged: 2017-10-28 14:25:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/308806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/merlins_sister/pseuds/merlins_sister
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The morning after the night before at Mr Sparkles’ new home. Sequel to Four Times There Was A Unicorn in the Break Room and the One Time There Wasn’t.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Love the Smell of Apple Breath in the Morning

**Author's Note:**

> Dedication: For vic_amy_z – thank you for all your support this year, and your indulgence of my Beckett/Ryan love. You rock metaphorically and literally!

Hot breath in his ear after a night’s partying had, on the whole, in the past, been a sign of a good time had by all and the potential for further good times, depending on how mobile he could manage to be. However, as this breath smelt of apples, and seemed to include a slight whinny as it came out Castle was pretty certain that previous experiences could be out for the time being. Risking opening one eye Castle found himself eyeballing the pink eye of a certain pink, sparkly unicorn, owner of previously acknowledged apple smelling breath. Another whinny followed which Castle had learnt was a signal for...something. Couldn’t really remember right now, but he should probably pat the unicorn and reassure him that he was alive.

Only he couldn’t move his arm. A sudden panic coursed through him; he was paralysed! No. Wait. If he was paralysed why would he have been left in Mr Sparkles’ stall? At least that was where he thought he was as Mr Sparkles was standing over him. But the Boston facility where he was homed had many dubious pieces of equipment. Oh and what if the Head Scientist... what was his name?... Bishop!...had got a bit carried away on his home made drugs and cut his arm off! And just given him something to think he was in Mr Sparkles’ stall?!

Deep breath, Castle, he told himself firmly. This is just your paranoia speaking. There must be a reasonable explanation for why he couldn’t move his arm. He should try and open the other eye in order to work this out.

Slowly, cautiously, he opened the other eye.

And then closed it shut again. Very quickly.

What he had seen was potentially...concerning. Could be completely innocent. Probably was. And certainly explained his inability to move his arm. But as he couldn’t remember much after arriving the previous evening he was willing to reserve judgement on that.

He opened both his eyes again and confirmed what he had seen the first time. The back of a head with short, dark, close cropped hair. The sound of a slight, masculine snore was coming from in front of the hair, the whoosh of breath brushing, Castle realised with some relief, across his shirt fabric. Which told him that Esposito was definitely sleeping wrapped around him, but at least they were fully clothed. No guarantee of anything but a good starting place.

His next major concern was waking Esposito up. He was pretty sure the cop kept a gun on him at all times; spooking an armed cop, who was probably as hungover as he was, was not a good plan in his opinion, especially when said armed cop was wrapped around another man. So this would have to done delicately.

A gentle move to the left was his first attempt to solve the problem. All this resulted in was a deepening of the snoring, and a slight whinny from Mr Sparkles which sounded distinctly like a slightly amused snort. He glared at the unicorn before returning to the problem in hand. Or was that arm?

He wasn’t sure how much Esposito weighed but now he was awake he was more than aware of the affect. Hence a gentle move did no good. Perhaps delicate would not be possible. He looked down at Esposito, who seemed to have tumbled slightly more forward, which was just getting more disturbing.

Okay delicate was out.

Bracing himself to pull out all the stops he pulled as hard as could to the left, surprised when Esposito tumbled forward releasing him to fall to the side with an ‘oomph.’ He lay there for a moment, the room spinning in an unhelpful manner, before he managed to push himself upwards again.

The tumble for Esposito didn’t seem to have done much damage, the snoring continuing unabated at the writer’s feet. Until Mr Sparkles decided that Castle was no longer of any interest and decided the heavy breathing trick was needed on Esposito.

As if chasing a buzzing insect, his hand came up and waved the unicorn’s muzzle away. Not to be defeated by something as miniscule as a waving hand, Mr Sparkles stepped back in, this time a loud whinny being added to his attempts to wake the sleeping cop up.

It had the right affect on the sleeping man, Esposito leaping at the blast of sound in his ear. However, it also had the effect of reversing the release of Castle from his grip as he tumbled back onto the writer. It took a moment for Esposito to realise where he was, and he was staring in a slightly bemused manner at Castle when the sound of Ryan arriving prompted a further response, both men leaping apart as he appeared in front of them, coffee cups in hand.

Ryan looked down at them, his face deadpan as he said, “As if I haven’t already got photos.”

He brandished the coffee at the two men, ignoring the glares from them, which were admittedly softened by their inability to resist the caffeine. Coffee cups released he turned his attention to Mr Sparkles, a ruffle of the mane before he released the unicorn from the stall. “Come on, boy. Let’s see if we can find where Beckett is hiding.”

Castle looked up from sipping on his coffee to consider Ryan’s words. That was true, he couldn’t remember seeing Beckett. But then there wasn’t much he did remember after certain drinks were imbibed. Still, she must be here somewhere. He pulled himself up to watch the progress of the hunt. Ryan and Mr Sparkles had stopped by a pile of coats, and seemed to be considering the best way of checking to see if Beckett was under there. There seemed to be a slight hesitation, and Castle couldn’t blame them. If she was feeling half as bad as he was he wouldn’t want to be the one to wake her.

Mr Sparkles, obviously appreciating his chance of being immune to Beckett’s wrath, nuzzled at one end of the pile of coats, provoking a slight movement underneath. Ryan then bravely pulled the coats back revealing a recumbent Beckett underneath. There was a pause before, with a speed of movement he wouldn’t have predicted, Beckett grabbed the coats back over her again. Ryan could be heard to sigh deeply, Mr Sparkles letting out a slight whinny.

“Come on, Beckett,” said Ryan. “Got some coffee out here for you.”

The reply was muffled but Castle was pretty sure it was something like “Go away!”

Ryan leant forward and pulled the coats back again, pulling them away before Beckett had a chance to grab them again.

“What are you doing?!” she demanded.

“Waking you up,” Ryan replied honestly. “I need to get you all sober before I start the drive back to New York.”

Castle couldn’t see exactly the look Beckett had given Ryan, but he could guess it wasn’t favourable. Fortunately the younger detective was brave and he just replied, “Don’t try that with me. You could have been designated driver.”

“I had two drinks,” said the recumbent Beckett.

“You had six glasses of the Doc’s punch,” Ryan replied, pushing honesty to a dangerous level in Castle’s opinion. “So you need coffee and fluids.”

There were muffled noises from Beckett, none of them sounding particularly polite. Mr Sparkles whinnied again and headed into the fray. To Castle’s surprise he reappeared with Beckett slightly leaning on him as the unicorn pulled her to a sitting position. Unable to be angry with the magical creature Kate merely patted her thank you before returning her glare to Ryan. He offered the coffee to her and she snatched it away.

The whole thing was completely fascinating.

“Where’s Castle and Esposito?” she asked after a few sips of caffeine.

“Cuddled up together in Mr Sparkles’ stall.”

Considering their hungover state, Castle and Esposito’s speed at standing up was impressive. In chorus they exclaimed, “No we’re not!”

Despite her own condition there was no stopping the grin that spread across Beckett’s face. She turned to Ryan and asked, “What do you think, Ryan? Don’t ask, don’t tell?”

He turned to look at them with his own wicked grin. “Don’t need to ask... got the photos.”

Their exit from the stall would have been more impressive if they hadn’t got caught up in the chain, but still it was a determined Castle and Esposito who walked firmly down to their colleagues.

“Nothing happened!” they said as one.

“Isn’t it cute? The way they speak together,” said Beckett, an unnecessary sparkle in her eye.

“Very,” Ryan replied, his own grin spreading. “Must be true love.”

“Nothing happened,” reiterated Esposito in a determined way.

“Probably,” added Castle in an absent minded way.

Esposito turned and glared at Castle. “What do you mean probably?”

Castle flinched slightly under the look, realising his mistake. He managed, “Well nothing probably did happen, but I don’t really remember much after a few drinks...”

Esposito opened his mouth as if to say anything before closing it again as he realised the same thing applied to him. Instead he turned on Ryan.

“Where’s these photos? On your phone?”

Ryan stepped easily out of his partner’s way, bringing his phone out with a flourish and saying, “Yes, they are on my phone. Wonder which one Lanie would like?”

The thought of Lanie seeing said photos only made Esposito more determined. Whilst the two partners dodged each other Castle turned his attention to Beckett, finding her chuckling into her coffee.

“Of course, there are other people the worse for wear here today,” Castle said loudly, distracting the two other men from their bickering. “How much do you remember, Beckett?”

There was a momentary look of panic on Beckett’s face before she nonchalantly said, “Sadly not enough as I don’t remember anything of you two in the stall.”

Castle turned to Ryan. “Any photos of Beckett that we need to know about?”

“Of course not,” Ryan replied, provoking a smug smile off Beckett. The smile didn’t stay long. “Jenny would’ve killed me.”

Beckett glared at Ryan with a look that Castle knew well. It said quite clearly ‘we will be discussing that later’. For now though it seemed that she was more interested in turning her hangover frustrations onto him.

“This is your entire fault, Castle.”

“My fault?!” Castle exclaimed. “How did everyone getting hangovers become my fault?”

“It was your idea to come up and see Mr Sparkles,” she explained, patting the unicorn gently.

“But you all thought it was a good idea,” Castle responded, still confused.

“Yes, but we didn’t suggest the party,” Beckett replied, raising one eyebrow.

“Well, I didn’t appreciate the good Doctor’s ability to make a mean cocktail,” Castle said simply. “Besides I think you needed to see Mr Sparkles.”

“I may have wanted to see Mr Sparkles, but I didn’t need to see Mr Sparkles,” she insisted, absent mindedly stroking the unicorn. “I have Ryan.”

Castle and Esposito turned quizzical looks on Ryan. Ryan, for his part, shifted awkwardly in front of them. “Please don’t ask.”

“What’s it worth?” Esposito asked, sensing his chance to get any photos before Lanie saw them.

Ryan was prevented from replying and giving up his advantage by the sound of the door opening. Mr Sparkles’ gave an excited whinny and trotted up to the woman who came in. Petite with short, curly dark hair, Castle knew they had been introduced but for the life of him he couldn’t remember her name...what the hell had been in those drinks?!

“Yes, I know,” she replied to a series of excited whinnies from Mr Sparkles. “Your friends are still here.”

“You speak excellent unicorn,” Castle said with a smile.

“Well, all this time working with Walter and you get a sense for following the unusual,” she replied, her smile broad. Walking over to the group she asked, “How are you all doing?”

Beckett, Castle and Esposito all looked at each other; Ryan wisely kept his mouth shut.

“That bad, huh?” she replied. She rummaged in her bag before pulling out some sachets. “Walter said you might find this useful to help alleviate any fallout from the drinks last night.”

“What on earth did he put in them, Astrid?” Castle asked, pleased with himself for finally remembering her name, reaching forward to take the sachets.

“I wouldn’t ask,” she replied with a slight chuckle before adding, “And I wouldn’t ask too much about what’s in those either. Just accept that they work.” Reaching into the bag again she also pulled out some bottles of water, handing them to the three hungover friends.

With one last look at each other Beckett, Castle and Esposito poured the sachets into the water and sipped experimentally on the solution. Finding no immediate side effects they started to drink more substantially, finding that whatever it was got to work pretty quickly.

“Will we get a chance to say goodbye to the Doc?” Castle asked. “Would like to pick his brains about a few things, drinks included.”

“’Fraid not,” Astrid replied. “He’s been called out with Olivia and Peter on a case. Won’t be back for a while.”

“That’s a shame,” Castle said. “I was looking forward to finding out more about what you guys do here.”

“Castle...” warned Beckett.

“You know I can’t tell you,” Astrid replied, her smile not disappearing. “Just know that having a request to have a unicorn live here is not the most unusual thing we have dealt with.”

“I’m just curious,” said Castle.

“Yes, and we all know how well that can end,” commented Beckett, standing up from her seat on the floor. “I think we should make a start on the journey and let Astrid get on with her work.”

Ryan looked at them with some dubiousness. “You sure you’re ready? Because I am not having other side effects of hangovers in the car.”

“They should be fine,” reassured Astrid. “The stuff Walter uses is pretty strong.”

Ryan still looked dubious, but shrugged his agreement. The group slowly gathered their belongings as they headed towards the door, taking it in turns to pat Mr Sparkles as he followed them there. It wasn’t until they reached the door that Castle appreciated there was a problem, as Mr Sparkles tried to follow them through.

“No, boy,” said Ryan sadly. “You need to stay here.”

Castle watched as Ryan and Beckett worked together to herd him back in the lab, taking it in turns to stroke him reassuringly.

“Sparkles, come here,” called Astrid, her voice gentle, coaxing the unicorn back to her. After a slight hesitation the unicorn wandered over to his new carer. “Good boy. You’ll see your friends again, I’m sure.” She patted him, looking up at the now distressed humans. “He’ll be fine. I’ll take good care of him.”

“I’m sure you will, Astrid,” Beckett replied, emotion just about covered. “Thank you again for taking him in.”

“It’s a pleasure,” Astrid replied, trademark smile firmly in place.

Esposito led the exit out of the university building, none of the group speaking. Castle felt a lurch in his stomach as he realised what he had just put certain members of the group through by suggesting this visit. He glanced back at them as Beckett and Ryan brought up the rear, catching the smallest of touches of reassurance between the two of them. At the sight Castle realised that Beckett had told Ryan also how much the unicorn had meant to her. He didn’t know what pleased him more; the fact she had taken his advice, or that she had someone who really knew what it meant to be leaving the unicorn behind. Didn’t know how that linked to her comment earlier, but that was a challenge for another day.

Walking more briskly to catch up with Esposito striding ahead he asked as he reached him, “So, how many boxes of apples are you planning to send up”

Esposito glanced at him suspiciously before deciding it wasn’t worth the effort to deny what he was planning. “I was thinking two might keep them going for a while.”

Castle shook his head. “You need to think bigger, my friend.” At Esposito rolling his eyes he continued, “I think we should be thinking orchard!”

“How do we get an orchard here?” Esposito asked, looking like he was going to regret asking the question.

“Well, not necessarily the orchard, but the harvest...a harvest from Mr Sparkles own orchard...”

He nodded his encouragement of the idea to the dubious friend to his side. He wrapped his arm around Esposito’s shoulder saying happily, “And just think, we’ve got a whole road trip back to New York to work it all out!”

That wasn’t a groan from Esposito. Not at all.


End file.
